ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (2025) – A Chaotic Revolution Wrapped in Dark Comedy
Rating: ⭐ 1/2
Paul Thomas Andersen’s One Battle After Another opens with a barrage of jarring revolutionary acts that set the stage for a film as provocative as it is polarising. From the outset, we’re thrust into the anarchic world of Perfidia (played by singer, dancer and actress Teyana Taylor) and her partner Bob (played by Hollywood A-Lister Leonardo DiCaprio), whose relentless drive for change manifests through bombings, bank heists and other destructive attacks. The prologue—marked by bombings, bank robberies, and provocative, often unsettling sexual encounters—sets a tone that is more abrasive than engaging. I found these first fifteen minutes almost unbearable to watch—an assault of radical spectacle and vulgarities that nearly forced me out of my seat. Yet, holding fast to my principle of seeing every film through to the end, I stayed.
Thankfully, the narrative pivots sharply after this abrasive prologue. Sixteen years pass, and we find Bob a shadow of his former self—a faded revolutionary now a single parent father to a fiercely independent and rebellious teenager. Their lives are upended when Bob’s old adversary, the crazed Col. Steve (Sean Penn), resurfaces, hunting down the next generation in a relentless pursuit. This segment transforms the film into a tense chase thriller, filled with twists, narrow escapes, and explosive action. This portion of the movie at least felt more coherent and watchable and keep the viewer engaged if not committed over its running time of over 2 hour 40 minutes.
However, the film’s reliance on spectacle—car chases, shootouts, and pyrotechnics—cannot mask its fundamental flaws. One Battle After Another suffers from a lack of compelling or likeable characters. None elicit sympathy, making it difficult for the audience to invest emotionally. DiCaprio and Taylor’s chemistry fizzles without leaving any impact, their on-screen romance never rising above awkwardness. In what may be his least distinguished performance, DiCaprio fails to command the screen. Taylor doesn’t fare much better, leaving their revolutionary partnership feeling hollow. The one standout is Sean Penn, whose portrayal of Col. Steve is a wild blend of menace and absurdity. Penn infuses his character with a manic energy, crafting a villain both original and memorable.
Andersen’s left-leaning perspectives permeate the film, but they’re handled with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The narrative veers dangerously close to a polemic, presenting radical ideas without meaningful nuance or justification. Social commentary is superficial, failing to grapple with the true fallout of revolutionary violence. Law enforcement, the military, and anyone who is white, is automatically not aligned with the protagonists and rendered as flat antagonists, stripping the film of moral complexity and diluting its impact.
Curiously, amidst the grim subject matter, Andersen injects a steady stream of everyday observational humour. This isn’t broad slapstick or farce, but rather a biting, dark comedic undercurrent that raises questions about the film’s intentions. Is this film supposed to be a comedy and its chaos meant to be a satire? Is the director poking fun at the very movements he appears to champion? The answer remains elusive.
Despite its bold ambitions, One Battle After Another falls short of the masterful storytelling found in Andersen’s earlier works like There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread, and The Master. While some die-hard fans and critics have hailed this film as another triumph, I remain unconvinced. Perhaps they saw a different movie, or perhaps they were swept up by its ideological fervor. For me, Andersen’s latest is a disappointing entry in his storied career, a film that confuses provocation for profundity and leaves its audience searching for substance amid the spectacle. It comes across as a leftist’s wet dream, a woke culture champion and a polarising political thriller struggling to balance satire and substance.
